Broadcom has unveiled what it claims is the industry's first dual-band wireless local area network (Lan) device capable of operating on both the 802.11a and 802.11g standards.

Dell will ship the dual-band technology in its latest Latitude notebook.

"Broadcom's dual-band 802.11a/g mini-PCI technology is ideal for business customers that want to future-proof their notebook investments," said Jeff Thermond, general manager of Broadcom's Home and Wireless Networking Business Unit, in a statement.

"Our 54g technology provides the industry's best speed, reach and security for upcoming 802.11g, the industry's new mainstream wireless Lan standard, and for 802.11a, enabling customers to keep their notebook while their wireless Lan infrastructure evolves."

Ken Furer, of market research firm IDC, said: "The 802.11a wireless Lan market has had a slow start, but we expect that dual-band 802.11a/g mini-PCI cards will become a key driver for 5GHz products."